Left Front team to meet Mamata today

Indicating a temporary ‘ceasefire,’ a 12-member delegation of the State’s Left Front would be meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday to address the issue of post-poll attacks on the Front’s supporters in the State, a press release by the CPI-M stated.

While a delegation of the CPI (M)’s legislative party met Ms. Banerjee earlier, for the first time since the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to power in 2011 Left Front leaders will meet the Chief Minister. In fact, for the first time CPI (M) State secretary Biman Basu will meet Ms. Banerjee, since 2011.

The delegation would be led by Front chairman Mr. Basu, the press release said.

Post-poll attacks in almost all districts of the State have reached alarming proportions, the release stated. The Front representatives will discuss “continuous, recent spate of attacks” on their cadres and sympathisers and would request the Chief Minister to intervene, said a Front member, who will attend Monday’s meeting.

“At least three Communist Party of India (Marxist) activists and sympathisers have been killed, a student succumbed to physical and physiological trauma after attack. Several MLAs and former MLAs have been attacked…more than 1,000 Left supporters have been injured in these attacks. Several hundreds have been forced to leave their villages in the face of these attacks,” the release stated. The release also enlisted the names of 155 party cadre who were killed in attacks in the past three-and-half years since the TMC came to power. However, many political observers think that this temporary truce can be connected to the rise of the BJP in the State.